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Tuesday, July 5
John Drury: Random Views From A Community Activist
by
John Drury
on Tue 05 Jul 2005 07:31 PM CDT
 Random Views From A Community Activist
by John Drury
Bush speaks to the nation
Bush
addressed the nation the other night in an attempt to regain the
support he has lost over his war for oil. He dismissed calls to set a
timeline to bring the troops home by saying that our troops will remain
in Iraq for as long as we have a mission to complete. I found this
particularly interesting given the fact that it was he who declared
“mission accomplished” over two years ago. It’s time to bring the
troops home, period.
Vilsack orders felons to vote
Governor
Vilsack has signed an executive order returning the right to vote to
convicted felons that have served their time and some Republicans are
not happy with the move. The order automatically returns the right to
vote to convicted felons who have served their time. Iowa is one of a
handful of states left that require felons to appeal to the Governor in
a lengthy application process to regain their voting rights. Republican
House Speaker Christopher Rants has said he thinks that we should
welcome felons who have served their time back into society but he
draws the line on voting. What is it about Republicans and their desire
to stop people from voting?
Speaking of voting …
There’s
a new report out that tells the tale of the Ohio voting boondoggle.
It’s a good read unless of course you’re under the impression that we
live in a democracy where everyone has a voice in their government.
Here’s an excerpt from the report … half
of the state’s African-American voters reported some problems at the
polls on Election Day. On average, black voters waited in longer lines
than white voters; they were asked to provide identification more often
than white voters; they were required to vote on “provisional ballots”
more often (and their provisional ballots were counted less often); and
they were intimidated at the polls more often than white voters. The
DNC found that 16 percent of African-American voters felt intimidated
at the polls; some reported hearing that “police would be at the polls
to arrest people who had outstanding child support or car payments.”
Overall, the problems African-Americans saw caused them to question the
integrity of the election. While 77 percent of white voters were “very
confident” that their votes had been counted, only 19 percent of black
voters felt the same way.
You
don’t suppose this has anything to do with yet another power hungry
Republican Secretary of State seeking higher office do you?
Fireworks and needy people
Like
many Iowans over the weekend, my wife and I watched a fireworks
display. This one happened to be in the neighboring community of
Rockwell. As we sat there with a group of friends watching the night
sky light up, one of our friends said that he thought it was ridiculous
that we spend so much money on fireworks in this country. “Imagine if
we took all the money we spend on fireworks and gave it to needy
people, we wouldn’t have any more needy people,” said Mark.
I
responded to Mark by saying that perhaps Americans need the fireworks
displays to remind us that we are the greatest country in the world. We
are so rich and powerful that we can afford to light up our skies with
these explosives and not give a second thought to the cost. And what
better day to do this than on the fourth of July, our nation’s
birthday.
“Just imagine how many people we could feed with that kind of money, though,” he said.
CAFTA: Killing Iowa's Ethanol Industry
by
Chad Thompson
on Tue 05 Jul 2005 12:48 PM CDT
 CAFTA: Killing Iowa's Ethanol Industry
Just before the holiday break (I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and celebratory 4th!), the Senate passed their version of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Iowa's vote went both ways.
Tom Harkin:
"Many
corporations will be tempted to take advantage of inadequate labor and
environmental standards and move jobs and investment outside the U.S.,"
Harkin said in a statement issued Thursday. "And more importantly,
family farms, rural communities and Iowa businesses will likely see
stiffer challenges under CAFTA."
Chuck Grassley:
"Passage
sends a strong signal to our trading partners that the United States
remains engaged in Latin America and deeply committed to opening
markets globally," Grassley said. "Farmers, ranchers, manufacturers,
and service providers in Iowa and nationwide will get a better trade
deal in CAFTA countries than what they have today."
The
House Ways and Means committee approved a version of the measure as
well - led by Iowa congressman (and gubenatorial candidate) Jim Nussle:
Nussle
highlighted a two-decade trade inequity between the United States and
the CAFTA region, telling the Courier, "I'm glad we're at this point.
We're leveling a 20-year-old uneven playing field."
A
very similar situation played out before in the 1990s with the China
"Most Favored Nation" status and NAFTA. Looking back, we can all
see the results both of those agreements.
One extraordinarily important item that Messrs. Grassley and Nussle (and Harkin) seem to have ignored to this point: CAFTA will likely wipe out the growing ethanol industry in Iowa and the midwest.
Agribusinesses
- primarily Cargill - have been not-so-quietly investing in facilities
to process ethanol using cheaper South American (and Central American)
crops for import into the United States. The National Corn Growers Association filed a letter of complaint last year:
In
a letter sent this week to Cargill Corporation, the National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) strongly condemned plans by Cargill
Corporation to import Brazilian ethanol through El Salvador as a means
of circumventing U.S. tariffs on imported ethanol.
Cargill
reportedly has plans to build a dehydration plant in El Salvador that
will convert ethanol from Brazil into fuel grade ethanol. Under
Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) provisions, the refined ethanol may
then be sent to the United States duty-free.
If CAFTA passes as is, the few restrictions on the import of ethanol will likely vanish - hardly a "slam dunk" for Iowa farmers.
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has published several fact sheets and reports detailing the impact CAFTA will have on America's slowly growing ethanol industry.
This fact sheet states the case very cleanly where the lines are drawn:
The
largest beneficiaries of CAFTA's ethanol provisions will be
agribusiness corporations in Brazil, a country that already has a
well-established ethanol industry. Unlike
much of the farmer-owned ethanol production in the U.S., international
agribusiness giants control the ethanol development in Central American
countries.
It's
plain as day: the interests of international agribusinesses and
the American producer are on opposite sides of this issue. Whose
voice is being heard in Washington?
Act Now: Rights to Supplements Being Denied
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 05 Jul 2005 07:55 AM CDT
 Act Now: Rights to Supplements Being Denied
We are SO CLOSE to having at least 75% of our nutritional supplements taken away. There is VERY LITTLE TIME!
YOUR HEALTH FREEDOM IS BEING THREATENED.
In the fine print of CAFTA, the US is being signed up to
global regulations that override US supplement laws.
IF YOU WANT CONTINUED ACCESS TO NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, READ THIS PLEASE!!!!
The Congressional vote for or against CAFTA is on July 11, 2005
WE MUST NOT ALLOW CAFTA TO BE PASSED! BRIEFLY, HERE'S WHY.
CAFTA
stands for Central American Free Trade Agreement. If this "treaty" is
signed, the United States (a member of the international World Trade
Organization) will be forced to revise our food and nutritional
supplement laws according to international standards.
Are
these "international standards" beneficial? NO!! Right now, the United
States has a fairly liberal law called the Dietary Supplement Health
and Education Act of 1994, or DSHEA. Thanks to the DSHEA, you have
available to you a plentiful array and potency of vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, enzymes, herbs, and other nutritional supplements.
However,
if CAFTA is signed, international law will supersede the sovereign law
of the United States. It is almost unbelievable that this could occur,
but it's true.
To give
you an idea of what this will look like in terms of supplement access:
The highest amount of Vitamin C allowed will be 200 mg. (This is not a
therapeutic dose.) For higher amounts, you will need a doctor's
prescription -- and pay much more than you do now. Amino acids will not
be available, nor will enzymes. You won't be able to get chromium,
either. Only those substances specifically allowed by international law
will be available. Significantly, the international law bureaucrats,
"guided" by the pharmaceutical industry, have "forgotten" about quite a
lot of nutrients that help keep us healthy.
The
international standards masquerade as "free trade" and "economic
union." But in reality, CAFTA is designed to also "manage" (a euphemism
for control) what a country can manufacture, use, and sell to its own
people. Part of what a CAFTA signer will "agree" to is this (from the
WTO text): "To harmonize sanitary and phytosanitary measures on as wide
a basis as possible, members shall base their food safety measures on
international standards, guidelines or recommendations."
But the "international standards" are not only for food. They also include vitamins, minerals and herbs!
CAFTA was passed in the U.S. Senate in a 54-to-45 vote on July 1st, 2005. It will be voted on by the House of Representatives when they reconvene on July 11th, 2005.
This is your final chance to defend your right to choose your own health protocol!
**YOU HAVE ONLY ONE WEEK TO ACT. CONTACT YOUR US REPRESENTATIVE. URGE HIM TO VOTE AGAINST CAFTA NOW.
**Or use a prepared form with an existing letter that you can edit if you wish. Click HERE.
YOUR
LETTERS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Government officials rate each
email, phone call, fax, and letter that they get as representing 13,000
opinions. (They figure that each person who gives an opinion stands for
12,999 others who don't bother to write or call.) So your opinion
counts tremendously!
The voting in the House will be close. WE HAVE ONE WEEK TO FLOOD THEIR OFFICES WITH CAFTA OPPOSITION LETTERS.
You can find your U.S. Representative and contact him at http://www.house.gov/writerep/
************
Here is a sample letter, which you can cut and paste once you get to the above site:
Subject line: Please vote AGAINST CAFTA
Dear Honorable _____________,
Please
vote AGAINST CAFTA. If the United States signs this treaty, this will
mean disaster for millions of United States citizens such as myself who
value the freedom to choose our own health care in the form of
nutritional supplements. If the U.S. joins CAFTA, access to such a
vital part of my health protocol will no longer be available to me.
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